The Bollywood Kissing Dilemma
Kissing has always been a taboo subject in India. One hint of a snog in public and you can literally ‘kiss’ your freedom goodbye. Can you imagine the conversation you would have with your fellow convicts about why you are in jail?
Oh, I’m serving life for kissing.
Right, after reading about a “lucky couple” in India who escaped prison last month for smooching in public, I got thinking.
Why is it the country that invented the Karma Sutra have such an issue with people showing each other a bit of affection?
In addition, India is happy to display many historical monuments and pieces of art, some of which are quite ‘graphic’.
So how can a little snog be offensive?
I was shocked when only two years ago, senior actor Richard Gere caused havoc all over India by planting a few over-enthusiastic smackers on Bollywood bombshell Shilpa Shetty. It was as if World War 3 had broken out. Effigies of Gere were burnt in rage, and angry death threats were made to Shetty. Ironically, Gere and Shetty were at a conference about safe sex when this debacle took place. This can be compared to the uncannily similar outrage concerning veteran actress Shabana Azmi, which took place in the early 90’s when Nelson Mandela visited the country and puckered up to her.
You would have thought that over a decade later, attitudes towards kissing would have changed. Obviously not.
The whole kissing saga in India is somewhat confusing and hypocritical. Public displays of affection between real-life couples can land you in prison, but the Bollywood industry showing kissing scenes with scantily-clad actresses is ok to watch? Having said that, there was a big issue made about the kissing scene between Aishwarya Rai and Hrithik Roshan in the 2006 release Dhoom 2, but since then, all has been quiet on the Bollywood kissing front…
…but apparently not in real society. What I really want to know is why India still has this view that kissing and loving affection of any kind is wrong. Is it not, after all, just simple human nature? Maybe these uptight law-abiding citizens are not getting any themselves? I think these people are stuck in some sort of time warp and are afraid to move on from traditionalist values. Some have also stated that big cities in India, such as Mumbai and Delhi, are falling under the influence of Western countries like the UK and USA. Therefore, the strict rules against kissing have been applied so that India doesn’t lose its old-fashioned morals like the West has.
Surely, with more important issues such as poverty, terrorism and corruption prominent in India, you would think that a minor thing like kissing wouldn’t even be given a second thought. How wrong are we?
It’s quite obvious what I think about this subject, and I’m not saying that people should be allowed to stand on street corners and snog the faces off each other (as it is quite repulsive to watch); just that rules should be slightly more relaxed. People shouldn’t have to fear prosecution or court orders when simply kissing their beau goodbye. Talk about ruining the moment.
Maybe in the next millennium it won’t be illegal to give your partner a peck on the cheek, but in the meantime, I would advise you not to kiss-and-tell the next time you’re in the kiss-a-phobic country they call India.
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